Out with the Reason
by LovelyFandomLover
Summary: Evangeline Pierce by no means was a troublemaker like those Marauders. But every once in a while, she liked to bend the rules if she was given a good enough reason. And Sirius Black claims that he has one. Marauders Era, Sirius/OC
1. Dead Night

**Full Summary:** Being a Ravenclaw made people see Evangeline Pierce as a bookworm who followed the rules and only wanted to get good grades. And that worked well with her. It allowed her the freedom to get away with her mischief. While Evangeline by no means was a troublemaker, but every once in a while, she liked to bend the rules if she was given a good enough reason. And Sirius Black claims that he has one. She'll see about that. Marauders Era.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to Harry Potter or anything familiar that you see. Anything original such as characters, dialogue, plot and anything else I own. I'm only going to do this one because no one wants to hear the same thing over and over again.

 **Author's Note:** Hey, everyone! So on a very, very impulsive move, I decided to publish this story because I lack self-control and I decided why not another story in my long list of WIP? Thankfully, I've had this story in the works for a while now, so I have some outlines for future chapters written already.

I hope that you like it and tell me what you think! I would really appreciate that. :)

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 **Prologue: Dead Night**

* * *

 **AUGUST 1981**

Evangeline Pierce didn't know what made her gain consciousness.

It could have been the rain that was falling hard on her face, the excruciating pain that was radiating all over her body, or a combination of both. What she did remember was coughing up water, blinking fast as the rain blurring her vision. She let out a loud, painful groan that turned into even more painful coughing. After Evangeline stopped coughing, she gasped, trying to catch her breath as if she had been running for hours.

Very slowly, Evangeline breathed out shakily, feeling a chill go over her body. She gagged when she felt her hair cover her face. Her body was in an uncomfortable position, her face pressed against the concrete, her arms under her body as if she placed them in front to stop herself from falling, her legs were bent in an awkward position and near her abdominal something was poking her. Her entire body was in agony, but the worst was near her abdomen. She felt something wet but it could easily be the rain.

She tried to move but her body remained frozen like there was something gluing her to the ground. It was impossible to move but after a few seconds, she felt her toes move which gave her a little hope but brought up questions.

How did she end up like this? Why couldn't she move? Where was she?

She didn't have the answer to many questions, but she was sure of one thing: something terrible happened to her. She couldn't remember how she gained consciousness, so it was no surprise that it was difficult for Evangeline to recall what lead her to be lying on the ground in the pouring rain. She closed her eyes, trying to remember the last remembered that the sun was still out when she was... something happened.

She continued to force herself to remember what exactly happened to her, but her memory was sluggish. Everything was out of focus, which was the first sign. After a few seconds, Evangeline partially remembered staggering down to the abandoned alley before she passed out of the pain. Her head was pounding and she came to the grim conclusion that she must have a concussion. That must be the reason why she was having a hard time recalling the previous events. There was no used to dwell on that at the moment and decided to focus on getting herself out of her current situation.

Like before, she tried to slowly shift her legs and managed for a fraction before she cried out in pain. Her scream echoed around the walls. It felt like an eternity before she managed to move her leg in a more natural position, although it didn't help to lessen the pain.

She tried to not panic, but she was failing and it was easy to see why. She couldn't move. She was in an unknown dark alley. She was completely vulnerable to any possible attack. Her breathing was shallow, a telling sign she was seconds away from a panic attack.

She focused on the spot in front of her and tried to think about something positive. The only thing that she could think to bring her comfort was that if she was able to get herself into the alley, she could get herself out of it, even it was by crawling.

 _My wand, I need my wand,_ she thought desperately. If she got a hold of it, she would be able to call for help and someone would find her. From her awkward position, Evangeline tried to scan in vain the dark alley for her wand. She remembered having her wand with her in the evening before—

 _Ambush. It was a fucking ambush._

The memory hit her like a train. She remembered that she was with two other members of the Order. They had apparated to a deserted street because they had been compromised in their intended spot. Within seconds, Death Eaters had appeared and attacked them.

That could explain why Evangeline was hurt. She must have been hit by a really powerful hexed.

 _Where are the others,_ she wondered and felt fear seized her as she slowly remembered seeing green light and cries. Her breathing started growing heavy as she realized the grim reality. Her breathing started becoming erratic.

 _Don't panic. They're probably okay,_ she told herself. They could be simply hurt, just like she was. While she did hope no one was injured besides herself, but if someone was hurt that meant someone was near Evangeline, laying on the ground just like her. She would've heard someone if they were near her. At least, she hoped she would. Evangeline was still disoriented.

She tried to call out for help but her throat felt like it was on fire. She made a painful noise and gasped, feeling out of breath. She bit her lip to stop herself from making any more noise. No one was there. It was just her. She was on her own.

Evangeline did the only thing she could do at that moment: cry.

She hadn't done that in a long time. Not since when she heard Marlene had been murdered along with her family. She wept all night, and no matter who would try to comfort her, it made her cry more. She remembered feeling angry, useless, devastated, pain. All those emotions hit her like bricks, and when the first tear spilled, the rest soon followed.

She cried, her sobbing turning to desperate gasps. She felt her chest ache. To make it even worse, the rain continued hitting her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. How did she end up like this? She had been playing it safe for the past few years to avoid her current situation. Evangeline no longer took the risks that she use to take back in Hogwarts when she was younger. She was careful with every choice that she made, never went off alone with someone. It seemed like it had all been in vain.

So much pain she has endured in her twenty-one years but none of it had been like the one she was feeling in that moment. Not even when she ten and fell flat on her face on the hard concrete. Or when she was thirteen and Marlene's cat bit her face. Or when she was fifteen and got her heart broken by her first love. Or when she was sixteen and ended up in the hospital wing for a week for breaking her ribs. Or when she was nineteen and got hexed.

As Evangeline took deep, slow breaths, for the first time since she gained consciousness, she started noticing her surroundings. Evangeline knew she was an empty alley, that was void of trash bins. She couldn't see any windows, so she wasn't near any apartments. It was a warm night, which was unusual. It was the middle of October and it was raining, but Evangeline didn't think she had the best judgment at the moment. Besides the rain, there wasn't any other noise to indicate where Evangeline was.

The crying had taken the little energy she had, and before she knew it, her body seemed to be growing heavier and her eyes had closed, she fell unconscious. Evangeline wasn't sure how much time has passed before she came to it again. It was still raining to her dismay and her body still was in immense pain.

It felt eternal, waiting for someone to show up and find her. She was slowly losing hope for anybody to come and save her.

 _You're very clever,_ a voice echoed in the back of her head making her open them. She blinked heavily and her eyes darted all over the alley and found no one.

 _Well, that must be why I'm in Ravenclaw,_ she remembered to have replied then. She pressed her lips into a thin line, feeling like that memory had happened yesterday.

It was true; she was often was told that she was clever, and always figuring a way. Evangeline prided herself on not relying on people because she always was able to protect herself. Which is why she rarely found herself in this kind of situation: the damsel.

It would be a shame that she didn't uphold everybody's expectation and gave up easily. She had cried, she had whined, now it was time to try.

 _I'm was going to get out of here, even if it kills me,_ she thought in determination. She tried to wiggle her fingers again and despite the pain shooting through her body, she didn't stop moving them. She closed her eyes and put all her focus on her arms. She continued to will herself to move them and was making very little process when there was a loud crack that made Evangeline pry her eyes open. Her fingers twitched, her pathetic attempt to trying to defend herself.

 _Evangeline._

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, it told her that she was imagining things and that no one called her name. The footsteps grew closer, she could hear the sound of water slapping the pavement. She moved her head but wasn't able to see anything besides a blurred figure heading towards her.

She expected the final blow, trying to hide her pain as a way to save her dignity, but it never came. The figure crouched in front of her and touched her face delicately as if they were afraid to hurt her.

 _Evangeline? Evie?_

Again there it was. Her name was ringing in her ears. It could have been her imagination or maybe it was a trap but it didn't stop her from faintly saying, "Get away from me."

"Evie. Merlin, Evie. You're here," Sirius Black said, the relief evident in his voice. From her position she managed to see that he was drenched in water, his hair matted to his face. His eyes scanned her face, desperately looking for something. "I've been looking for you in hours."

"You found me," she said, feeling as relieved as he appeared, and gave him a faint smile.

"Yes, I did," Sirius said in a strangled voice, and hesitated, his hands hovering over her body. After a few seconds, he pulled her up. She gasped, her eyes stinging at the pain that returned in a split second,

"Sorry," he said and she felt him press her against a wall.

"Is fine," she gritted out. It was painful but it wasn't as excruciating as before, probably because her entire body felt numb. Evangeline could finally see Sirius clearly and saw that he had a gash near his forehead.

"I was so worried when I didn't see you come back, I thought..." Sirius broke off and shook his head. "I should've come earlier. They should've told me. What if something had happened to you?"

Evangeline wanted to tell him that he shouldn't worry. That she was alive and that was what mattered. But she couldn't. Her body wouldn't let her open her mouth and assure Sirius. Using all her strength, she raised her hand and touched his cheek. He flinched at her cold touch but leaned in. His hand went to rest on top of hers and squeezed it tightly.

"Bloody hell, why didn't you called for help?"

Even when she was hurt, Sirius couldn't help but reprimand her. She was glad that never changed.

"I don't know where my wand is," she mumbled and dropped her hand back to the floor. It took so much effort to have it raised. "I tried... I tried to find it..."

Sirius glanced around the dark alley and grimaced. "It's alright. Forget about it. We'll get a new one. We need to go and get you help."

"Wait... wait... did you... did you... find the other's?" she asked.

She missed Sirius long pause before answering. "Yes, I did. But we need to go."

She nodded numbly, or at least she hoped she had. She had started losing the sensation of her body. She felt Sirius wrap his arm around her waist and started pulling her up when she cried out. She was surprised at how loud it was and seemed to have surprised Sirius too. He paused but managed to pull her and gently placed her back on the ground.

"I think I was hexed," she said, feeling as if someone had punched her in the lungs. Her entire chest felt like it was on fire. "Everything hurts."

"I'm sorry." He sighed and rested his head against her. She exhaled and despite how shitty her current situation was, she was at ease. Her hand went to his cheek and touched him lightly. He sighed again and leaned into it. "I am so sorry. They said it was going to be an easy mission, but it wasn't."

"When have things been easy? I'm surprised I didn't die back in Hogwarts," she said with a laugh and grimaced, her hand free going to her bleeding side. Sirius eyes followed her hand and noticed the pool of red.

"Wait. Where is that blood coming from?" he demanded and moved her hand. He skimmed over her body until it stopped near her abdomen. "You're bleeding."

"I am?" she slurred, out of nowhere feeling incredibly exhausted. She couldn't feel her pain anymore and because of the rain, she wasn't able to feel the blood-soaked her clothes.

She focused on Sirius' face. He raised her shirt, to further examine her injury. In a matter of seconds, his expression went confused to realization to fear. For Sirius to be afraid things must be really dire.

"Whatta matters?"

"Fuck, fuck," he hissed under his breath, his grip on her slackening. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, her face hitting the cement hard. Sirius pulled her up, his grip tightening around her waist. "Shit. Evie, I'm so sorry."

"Can we... please leave...?"

"Yes, but unfortunately we can't apparate," Sirius said and when he tried to move her, she whimpered, closing her eyes. "Listen, I know it's going to hurt, but we need to get you help."

Sirius started talking too fast for her to understand. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder, relieved that the pain wasn't there anymore. She couldn't feel her fingers anymore. She couldn't feel anything much. She had been out in the rain for too long.

"So warm," she garbled, appreciating how warm her felt compared to her.

"Evie."

Sirius sharp voice rang inside her head making her wince. It felt like forever before she was able to answer him.

"Whatta mattes?"

If Evangeline had been more aware, she would have realized the seriousness of the situation. She would have noticed the stricken expression that Sirius wore as he realized that her injury in her abdomen was killing her and that left him in a compromising situation.

"Evie, open your eyes now," he said instead of answering her question. Evangeline didn't notice because she was too tired. Suddenly, she felt like there were weights on her body.

"No, Evie. Don't do this," Sirius snarled and grabbed her face forcefully. No matter how much Sirius yelled at her and moved her around, she was unable to open her eyes. She could feel herself slipping into the darkness, nothing else mattered. Not the rain, not her injury, not Sirius shouts, not even herself.

"Evangeline!"


	2. Bloody Beginning

**Author's Note:** Hey there! Here's another chapter. It was a happy coincidence that I got to update in September 1st!

I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the first chapter and hope that you enjoy this chapter too. Also, I am pretty proud with myself that I managed to update in less than a month (that can be because I already had it half written) and I cross my fingers that I continually update every so often.

I would love it if you let me know what you think! :)

* * *

 **Chapter One: Bloody Beginning**

* * *

 **SEPTEMBER 1977**

Typically, when the whistle blew, it was the signal that it was time to start boarding the train. But at that moment, for Evangeline, it served as an excuse to have her parents shut their mouths. It might sound rude, but despite the fact that she loved them dearly what was coming out of their mouth made her want to scream at the top of her lungs. Her parents continue speaking as the whistle continued blowing, making her wince.

Bloody hell, was it always that loud?

Evangeline glanced to her right and internally flinched when she saw one of her best friends, Marlene McKinnon awkwardly standing few feet behind her still holding Evangeline owl. Evangeline had completely forgotten that she had been there the entire time. Catching her eye, Marlene nodded towards the train and then pointed the owl.

Evangeline nodded in understanding and mouthed, "Thank you. I'll find you."

Marlene looked relieved to have an excuse to finally part and turned to Evangeline's parents. "Sorry, to interrupt but it was lovely seeing you again, Mr. and Mrs. Pierce. If you excuse me, I need to save us a spot in the train," she said, pointed awkwardly to the train. "And also, Orion needs to desperately spread his wings."

"Right, of course," Mr. Pierce said, nodding and waved goodbye. He nudged his wife to look at their daughter's friend and she looked over.

"It was nice seeing you again, darling," Mrs. Pierce said distractedly, and somehow managed to give her a terse smile.

"Same for me. Goodbye," Marlene said and quickly rushed towards the train with Orion on tow.

A flash of guilt went through Evangeline, but it faded as her attention went back to the source of Marlene's discomfort. She scowled when she saw that her mom continued lecturing her.

"Mum," she said tersely. "I need to go. Can you just… just stop?"

"Anna, Evangeline does need to go," Mr. Pierce said in a soothing voice, going in between the two Pierce women. If she hadn't been angry at her parents for embarrassing her in front of her friend, Evangeline would appreciate him for playing the peacekeeper. He turned to Evangeline, and in the same tone, said, "Can you please at least take this letter and read it on your own terms, hopefully when you're calmer?"

"You wrote a letter, really?" Evangeline said flatly. "How long have you've been planning this?"

"Evangeline," Mrs. Pierce said tersely. "Please take the letter."

Evangeline glanced at her father's extended hand that held a smooth enveloped. She stared at it reproachfully and thought that if she were a rude daughter, she would have slapped it from his hand and walked away. Fortunately, to them, she respected them and begrudgingly took the letter, stuffing it carelessly in the back of her jean pockets.

"That horrid whistle," Mrs. Pierce complained, glaring at the train. "Why won't it stop? Has is always been that loud?"

"I have to go," Evangeline said stiffly but made no effort to walk away. Her parents stared at her, both wearing different expressions. Her mum: frustrated and sad. Her dad: apologetic and pitiful. She couldn't imagine how she looked. Probably red-faced at how angry she was; she had never been good at hiding her emotions.

"Bye, darling," Mr. Pierce said and pulled her into a tight hug. Her anger lessened as she hugged him back, albeit not with the same intensity as her father. "Be good, and please, oh please, take care of yourself. I don't want to see you with another black eye the next time you come home."

When Evangeline let go of him, she went to hug her mother. The hug was awkward but it didn't mean it was meaningless. Mrs. Pierce pulled away and stared at her daughter before placing her hand on her cheek.

"Please take care," she said, her voice cracking. She cleared her voice and in a lighter voice added, "And read the letter, or else we'll send you those dreaded letters you talk about."

Evangeline raised one of her eyebrows. "You mean a Howler?" she asked.

Mrs. Pierce nodded seriously. "Yes, those. I will send you one."

Evangeline managed to muster a smile and didn't tell her that it wouldn't be possible for them to send them because Howlers required magic and they were mere muggles.

"I have to go," Evangeline said, and after another tight hug from her father, she started making her way to the train.

"We love you," her mother called out making Evangeline paused. She reluctantly turned around and gave them a wave before she went into the train cart that she saw Marlene go inside. She internally groaned.

This was probably her least favorite part of getting to the castle. Having to open each compartment, awkwardly interrupting conversations and having strangers stare at her as she realizes her friends aren't there. And then repeat the process until she found them.

She was in her fifth compartment when she ran into trouble. Tentatively opening the door for the fifth time, Evangeline flushed when she saw the compartment was full of Slytherin students and not just any Slytherin's.

Rosier, Avery, Mulciber, and other nasty Slytherins that made the lives difficult to the muggle students. Students like her.

 _Oh, dear God._ Evangeline felt her blood turn cold and she tried to appear unperturbed by the encounter but she was hoping in vain. She was shit at hiding her expressions. Her friends always tease her for being an open book.

Everyone in the compartment stared at her like she was their prey and they were about to go on a hunt. It wasn't the first time she had seen those expressions on them. Rosier shared a smug look with his friends.

"Wrong compartment, mudblood," he said, his lips turned into a sneer.

Evangeline felt her blood boil. There were times like this, she understood where her parents were coming from. She wouldn't have to deal with those degrading names in the muggle world. She would be safe from those people fill with prejudice and hatred.

But she wasn't going to let them win. It might have been her pent-up frustrations that led her to make the stupid comment.

"Unfortunately, I ran into the pathetic wannabes," she said in a cool voice and was about to walk out when Avery flicked his wand and the door closed shut in front of her. She flinched at the proximity of the door and tried to pry open it but it refused to open. She whirled around and saw the amusement in their face.

"Where do you think you are you going?" Avery asked. "Don't you want to sit down and chat?"

"Open it. Now," she ordered them, gripping her wand tightly. She knew it wasn't wise to test them but she didn't want to stay there with them and be humiliated by them. "Open it or I'll hex you."

"Watch it, mudblood," Mulciber warned. "You better watch your mouth or else you're going to find your pretty face destroyed.

"You think, she's pretty? You truly have no standards, Mulciber. I wouldn't shag her if she was the last women in the world," said one of the Slytherins, earning around off laughter.

"Oh, fuck off," she snapped, her face heating up in anger.

"What did you say?" Mulciber said, standing up and going towards her. He easily towered her, and Evangeline had to take a step back, her back hitting the door. She gulped and willed herself to not look like she was about to throw up.

"Don't touch me," she warned, her voice shaking.

"Or what?"

She chose not to answer, a part because her voice had disappeared and the other because she had no threat to offer, and instead punched him in the crotch. He emitted a loud groan and took a step back. The Slytherin's looked furious at her actions.

"Stupid, mudblood. You're going to pay for it," Rosier warned.

She stiffened when she heard a laughter and before she could react, she felt a pain radiate from her face. Her hand flew to her nose, feeling blood drip down.

"Bloody hell," she cried out, unable to stop herself and she heard loud laughter fill the compartment.

"Out you go, mudblood," someone said and she felt them push her out of the compartment.

Luck was definitely not on her side because she felt her body slammed into somebody. Both of them crashed into the floor and half expected one of them to have a broken bone. She had no idea how she found herself tangled up in that person. Evangeline laid down on the ground awkwardly with someone's leg over her waist.

She felt the blood drip down her chin and she wouldn't be surprised it was because she had cut herself. She could taste the blood on her mouth.

"Ah," squeaked the person that was below her.

"Oi! Peter! What'd you do this time?"

Evangeline managed to push herself, accidentally putting pressure on the shoulder of Peter, the said victim. Somehow, she managed to disentangle her legs from his body and threw herself to the side, grunting in pain. Evangeline looked to her right and recognized the short, pudgy boy, who she believed was named Peter Pettigrew, a Gryffindor. She saw him be lifted off the ground by someone and she wasn't surprised to see that it was James Potter.

"What you do?" Potter asked again, in the same exasperated tone, letting go of Peter and brushing off any residue dust on his clothes. She pushed herself up and saw him shake his head in disbelief at his friend. "Look what you did."

"She fell onto me," Pettigrew defended himself and then let out a loud squeak. "Ah! She got blood on me."

"Relax, Peter. It's one drop, it can be washed off," Potter dismissed his friend and turned to Evangeline and without asking, grabbed her hand and pulled her up on her feet. She winced as pain radiated her arm and he saw. "Sorry about that, Pierce."

Evangeline felt herself turn red when she saw the boy she fell on was covered in her blood. Like Potter had said, it wasn't a lot but it still was humiliating. She opened her mouth to apologize but closed it, feeling her throat catch itself. She was already sensible from her parent's argument, if she would speak, Evangeline would most likely burst into tears.

"Are you alright?" Potter asked, his eyes darting all over her.

"Yes," she stumbled.

"Really?" he asked skeptically, glancing at Pettigrew who was still complaining over the mess she made on his robes. "I saw the fall. What happened to you? It's like someone had shoved you."

Evangeline shrugged lamely and looked over at Pettigrew, feeling her embarrassment take over.

"I—" She chocked on her words and turned around quickly, rushing off, not bothering to apologize. She was too embarrassed and humiliated.

"Marlene is on the other side. Third compartment."

She stopped and turned to face that Gryffindor boy, Sirius Black, who she had failed to notice. He was standing behind his friends Potter and Pettigrew.

"If you're looking for your friend, she's in the other cart. Third compartment." Black lazily pointed over his shoulder. His eyes looked her over, making her even more self-conscious. "What happened to you?"

She ignored his question, partially because it flew through her head, and glanced at the compartment that got out nervously. She needed to get out of this area quickly before one of the Slytherins decided to get out and continue harassing her.

"Pierce," Potter said, making her look over to them.

"Huh?"

"Are you sure you're alright."

Ignoring his question, she took a deep breath and turned to Pettigrew and managed to say a shaky, "I'm so sorry, Peter," and rushed off to find her friends.

She could hear Potter call after her but she didn't stop. A shaky sob escaped her mouth and she bawled her fist into her mouth to stop herself. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed silently.

 _Do not cry,_ she ordered herself. _You will not let them win. They're bloody pricks._

Her little pep talked seemed to work because she managed to stop any tears from escaping. She had gotten a glance at her reflection at the window and grimaced at the mess she looked. No wonder Potter didn't seem to believe her. Even Black was interested and that said something.

It was too late for her to hide her bloody nose. Blood was smeared on her chin and her hands, she had nothing to wipe her hands with. At least the blood had stopped coming out.

"Excuse me," someone said, bumping into her, bringing her back to the present. Already, there were too many people shuffling around the hall, all looking for a place to sit. She tried to ignore the looks she was receiving and focused on pushing people to the side to get to her friends.

She almost fell to the floor in relief when she saw the familiar blonde hair of Marlene through the foggy glass and opened the compartment, taking a seat to the empty spot next to Alice. She was glad that she got a window seat, allowing her to clear her mind.

"Hi, Evie! You won't believe… oh, Merlin," Alice gasped, looking worried. "What happened to your face?"

Orion, Evangeline's owl, let out an alarmed squawk and was desperately flapping its wings to be released from the cage to go over to her owner.

"Oh please tell me you didn't brawl it out with your parents?" Marlene groaned but looked as concerns as Alice.

"I tripped," she said, distracted by examining her clothes. They were splatters of blood on her blouse. Orion let out another loud squawk and Evangeline tiredly let him out. He flew to her and nipped her hand. She was about to pet him but grimaced when she sees that her hand got covered in blood and when she turned to look for tissues, she was grateful that Alice already handing her some.

"Thank you," she said gratefully and started wiping herself. Once she was clean, she petted Orion, trying to soothe him. Once he seemed satisfied that Evangeline wasn't going to die anytime soon, he flew back to his cage and took a nap.

"That must have been a nasty trip," commented Marlene, eyeing her carefully.

"It was," she said, not truly lying. The blood did get all over her because she fell on top of Pettigrew. "Do I really look that bad?"

"Yes," Marlene said while Alice said, "A little."

Evangeline groaned and rubbed her cheeks in frustration. "Fantastic. This is just what I needed today."

"I have some makeup you can use to cover the redness from your face," Alice offered. Evangeline waved her off.

"It's fine, I just need to wash my face and some pumpkin juice and I will be fine."

"If you say so," Marlene said, not sounding entirely convinced. She continued staring at Evangeline like she was expecting her to burst into tears at any moment. Well, the joke was on Marlene because that had already happened and Evangeline was all dried out of tears.

"Hey, Evie, why did Marlene think you got in a fight with your parents?" Alice asked, looking between the two girls. "Did something happened between you and your parents?"

"Marlene was exaggerating," Evangeline dismissed her. "Unless coming to a disagreement about whether or not my hair looked fine this morning a fight. You know how my mother can be about appearances. We almost missed the train because she couldn't find her earrings."

Alice seemed to accept that response and turned her attention to the magazine she was reading. Evangeline dropped her smile, and when she looked up she saw Marlene's concerned stare. She felt her nudge her foot with her own. Evangeline shook her head, an indication that right now wasn't the moment.

As much as she loved the bubbly Alice, she wasn't comfortable with telling Alice her family problems. She didn't even want to burden Marlene with them, but it was nearly impossible for her not to know, seeing since they're roommates.

"Is Lily coming in?" Marlene asked, pressing her face to see through the door's glass. Her nose was practically touching the glass, fogging it.

"Later," Alice said, not looking up from the magazine. "She's at a prefect meeting, remember?"

Marlene smiled brightly. "Great, it gives us time to start planning her birthday."

"Um, Marlene, Lily's birthday isn't until January," Alice reminded her. "Shouldn't we talk about Evangeline's birthday? Hers is more closer than Lils."

"Oh, I know, but Lily is super nosy, so once we get to Hogwarts, it will become nearly impossible to keep her off our trail. Better to start now and have some sort of plan."

Evangeline glanced at Marlene, frowning doubtfully, but when she saw the subtle wink from her friend, she understood. Never had Evangeline been grateful to have a friend as understating as Marlene.

"Thank you," she mouthed.

Alice, missing the exchange between the two girls, quickly jumped on board and started discussing the possibilities of what they could do for their missing friend.

Evangeline continued wiping her hand with the tissues. The blood was gone but her hands were still stained with red. She was fortunate she didn't faint at the sight of blood, or else it would have been messy. She winced when she rolled her neck, not realizing how hurt she was. When she got to her dormitory, she was going to check herself better.

Evangeline flinched when the compartment slid open. It was silly, of course, to think that it was Rosier at the door, coming back to hex her again. But it was only Lily, her friend that wouldn't hurt her.

Everyone greeted her cheerfully as she took a seat next to Marlene.

"Sorry for being super late," she apologized, shedding off her jacket. "The meeting wouldn't end. The Ravenclaw prefects wouldn't stop talking. No offense." She gave an apologetic smile to Marlene and Evangeline.

"McAdams doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut," Marlene laughed and gave a sly smile to Evangeline. "Well, except when he runs into Evie."

Evangeline gave her a faint laugh. "Right, I have the tendency to leave boys speechless," she said.

"You might be surprised, Evie, but you have the reputation of being a heartbreaker," Lily said and turned to Evangeline. She gave her a sympathetic smile. "I heard about your bloody nose. Are you alright?"

Evangeline was taken back. She nodded, unconsciously scratching her nose. "Um, yes, I'm alright. It's not the first time I've gotten a bloody nose."

"And who told you about it?" asked Alice, tilting her head thoughtfully.

"Potter," Lily said and rolled her eyes when she saw the looks the girls shared.

 _It's about to begin,_ Evangeline thought and knew she wasn't the only one. The ongoing tug of war relationship between Lily and James Potter always befuddled Evangeline. She would be lying if she said that she didn't find it a little interesting.

"Right, you just casually ran into Potter," teased Marlene, making Alice laugh loudly and Lily glared at her.

"Oh, shut it. I was walking with Remus, who's a prefect in case you have forgotten, and of course, we stopped by his compartment first. And for your information, it was actually Sirius that brought it up."

"What?" Evangeline frowned.

"Yes, he said that you had a bloody nose and then Potter jumped in and told me the story as if it had happened to him."

"Did Sirius say anything else?" Marlene asked in the most forced casualness. Despite her many denials, it was obvious to everyone she fancied the Gryffindor boy. Evangeline didn't understand why Marlene refused to admit her feeling towards him, but then again, the same could be said to Lily about James. Was she the only in her friend group that could be honest about her feelings?

Lily shrugged. "No, he just said 'Your Ravenclaw friend got hurt. The Muggle one.' Which I didn't appreciate by the way. He knows your name. I don't know why he would say that."

Evangeline shrugged, not caring what Black referred to her as.

"That's it?"

"Yes, Marlene," Lily said impatiently. "He just said that Evie tripped over Pettigrew and got blood all over him. Why do you care so much?"

Marlene scowled. "I'm just asking."

"Wait, wait. You tripped over Pettigrew?" Alice demanded, throwing an annoyed look at Evangeline. "You didn't tell us that. You just said you tripped."

"I did," Evangeline said defensively. "You never asked on what."

Lily snorted in amusement. Marlene leaned over and shoved Evangeline, annoyed. "Seriously, Evie? Why didn't you tell us that?"

She shrugged again. "Does it matter? Lily just told you."

"Hey, don't blame it on me," Lily said. "I just wanted to know if you were alright."

"Well, I would have been nice if you told us everything because that could have explained why you showed up looking like you got beat up."

"It wasn't that bad."

The looks that Alice and Marlene gave her told her the opposite. Evangeline couldn't help but notice that Lily hadn't mentioned how rude she had behaved with Pettigrew. She hoped that it was because they hadn't noticed but she doubted it.

"Are you sure your alright?" Lily asked gently.

"Yes, I'm sure. My nose just feels sore." Evangeline gave her a smile, hoping that it appears reassurance. It seemed to work because Lily turned her attention to the other girls.

"Oh look, here are the pictures that I took during the summer," Lily said eagerly pulled out muggle photographs to show them. Marlene and Alice looked over to them eagerly, always fascinated with the still photographs.

Evangeline lingered back because Lily had shown them to her a few weeks back when they had seen each other in Diagon Alley. As she settled into her seat, her hands searched the air and found nothing.

 _Oh fuck._

She straightened up and stared at her lap as if she expected to see her parents letter sitting there. But there was nothing there. Her eyes darted around the compartment, hoping in vain that the letter somehow had fallen on the floor.

She knew that her letter must have fallen around the time she ran into the Slytherins and her crash with Pettigrew. She felt uneasiness settle at the pit of her stomach. The idea of one of those vicious Slytherins finding and reading the letter her parents wrote for her made her want to pull out her wand and hex them.

"My letter," she said in horror and stood abruptly, her bag flying over to Lily, who whined a quiet, "Ow."

"What letter?" Marlene asked in bewilderment.

"The bloody letter my parents wrote for me," she said, and desperately checked her pockets even though she knew they were not there. "Dammit, I have to go…" She trailed off and opened the compartment, looking outside. "I'll be right back."

"Evie, do you need help?"

"No," she said distractedly and got out, slamming the door behind her close. She was too busy looking at the floor for her letter that she didn't notice the boy that was walking towards her. For the second time of the day, she collided with somebody else. Thankfully, she didn't fall on top of anybody at that time.

"Umph," she grunted and stumbled back to the side, smacking her shoulder. She looked up and was taken back that it was Black who she bumped into.

"You're very clumsy," observed Black, his hair all over his face. He pushed it aside carelessly and looked slightly amused.

"Merlin," she groaned and leaned against the window of the cart, closing her eyes. This was not her day. She got into a stupid fight with her parents, got attacked by the stupid Slytherins, crashed into two Gryffindors and now lost her parents letter. She felt Black tap her forehead and she opened her eyes to see him standing in front of her.

"What? Do you want an apology?" she snapped.

"That would be nice," he said, his hands fiddling with something.

"Sorry for running into you and messing up your hair," she said flatly. She pushed herself from the wall and started scanning the floor.

"What were you looking for?" he asked, leaning against the wall as he observed her.

"Excuse me?" She looked up and frowned.

"Is it this?" He raised what he was holding in his hand and Evangeline immediately recognizing her mother's handwriting on the envelope. Her eyes widened and she snatched it from Black.

"Where'd you get this?" Evangeline asked. She clutched her letter to her chest, feeling a wave of relief wash over her.

"You dropped when you left without apologizing to Peter."

"Did you open it?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing when she saw the sealed of the letter was torn open.

"No," he said shortly, looking annoyed. "I don't care what it said."

She rudely waved it at his face. "It's open."

"That's how it was when I found it."

Evangeline looked at him carefully and saw that he was looking at her expectantly. She felt a twinge of guilt at how she was acting with him but she was too agitated. When Black saw that she wasn't going to apologize to her, he rolled his eyes.

"You're welcome," he said cooly and walked away before she could say another word.

"Shit," she whispered to herself and ran towards him. She grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to stop.

"What now?" he sighed and turned around to face her. She flinched at how close their faces were and took a step back.

"I just realized, I was being rude," Evangeline started but got interrupted by him.

"McKinnon always goes on about how nice you are," he said, looking at her curiously. "But you're actually kind of a mean witch if you get what I mean."

Evangeline stared at him, loss of words. He seemed pleased with himself that she had nothing to say at him.

"You should consider apologizing properly to Peter," he said and walked away. That time, Evangeline didn't bother to stop him. She was still reeling from his comment. She was not a bitch. She was just having a really bad day.

 _But Black doesn't know that_ , she reminded herself and sighed, resting against the wall. Great, she was burning bridges everywhere she went. But Black did have a point as much as she hated to admit. She was definitely going to have to find Pettigrew later, probably in the dining hall, and apologize for her insane behavior.

"Was that Black?" Marlene asked, her head popping out of the compartment. "I thought I heard him. "

"Yes," Evangeline said curtly and turned around, going back to where her friend was and pushed Marlene back into the compartment, shutting the door behind her.

"What was that about?"

"I was going outside to find my letter when I ran into Black. He had my letter and gave back to me."

"Bloody hell," Lily said loudly, making everyone look at her. She turned to Evangeline and gave her an apologetic smile. "I forgot to tell you that Black said he had something of yours. I can't believe I forgot. I got so caught up with your nose, that I forgot. Sorry, Evie."

"It's alright," Evangeline murmured and smoothed out the edges of the letter. She might not have been happy about receiving that letter from her parents, having a good idea of what they had written, but she would have been more upset if it fell to the wrong hands.

"Why did Black have her letter?" Marlene asked suspiciously, her eyes darting back and forth from Evangeline to Lily.

"I dropped it," Evangeline spoke up and looked at Marlene. "I must have dropped it when I tripped over Peter. Thank Merlin that Black had the decency to give it back."

"That was nice of him," Alice commented and Evangeline silently agreed with her.

That was an unexpected action by Black but she appreciated it. She winced at the reminder of how she had acted with him. She made a mental note that when she apologized to Peter, she would use that chance to thank Black personally. And once she thanked him for his small good deed, she was going to make it clear to him that she was not a 'mean witch' and that if he ever called her that again, she was going to chop off all his hair.

As the other girls continued with their chatter, laughter erupting every so often, Evangeline spent the majority of the train ride, sitting in silence, staring at the window with disinterest. The entire time, she gripped her parents letter tightly and tried to ignore the throbbing pain that was coming from her shoulder.


	3. Bad to Worse

**Authors Note:** Oh my god, sorry for the long wait. This chapter took a while but I finally forced myself to get it done. Sorry if there are any errors, I am sorry, but I am so exhausted with this chapter.

Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed, followed and favorite! It makes me so happy to see them. I hope you enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think!

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Bad to Worse**

* * *

If Evangeline thought things would get better once she arrived at Hogwarts, she had been mistakenly wrong. Evangeline had only been back at school for a week, and she was already in quite a few crises.

Not only had she earned a week's worth of detention on the first Monday back at school, but Evangeline had also forgotten turn in her potions homework twice, and had to go to the hospital wing for a sprained wrist. Not to mention, she still hadn't been able to apologize to Pettigrew and Black (not that she was making much of an effort to do it).

She could not believe that her sixth year was turning out to be terrible.

Evangeline was one who liked to take responsibility for her mistakes (most of the time) but hiding on her favorite corner in the empty library, Evangeline wanted to blame every misfortune that's happened to her the past week at the letter she was holding in her hand.

That day, during breakfast, Orion had dropped a letter on Evangeline's lap. Immediately, she had recognized her father scratchy writing. She opted to wait until she was alone to open it, so she had left the dining hall, not bothering to eat and headed to the library. There, Evangeline was glad that she made that choice. She would have made a scene at breakfast as she read what her father wrote.

Evangeline stared at the letter blankly, wondering if she suddenly needed glasses.

 _We feel like it's best that you enjoy this year since next year you're not going to be attending…_

 _We know that you really enjoy attending this school..._

 _Dangers surrounding you and we would never forgive ourselves if..._

 _Better off not being involved with magic..._

Her sweet, caring parents could not have written this letter. Yes, they have always been apprehensive of magic—they had made it clear the last time she saw them—but they always did their best to understand it. For Merlin's sake, they were subscribed to the daily prophet in order to understand a little more of Evangeline's world.

"Better off without magic? Better off without magic?" she repeated in disgust and had to bite her fist to stop herself from screaming in frustration.

It was bad enough that they gave her that bloody letter back in the train station, talking about her having to think about her future in the Muggle world once she was finished in school and blah, blah, but for them to write that their actual intentions were to take her out of school next year was just too much for her to handle.

 _They couldn't say it to my face,_ she mentally screamed. _Those... those... ugh._

Slowly, she removed the first from her mouth and took a deep, ragged breath. Evangeline knew that she was brooding but she didn't care. She was so annoyed at everything and had no energy to pretend that everything was going to be alright.

"Fuck," she hissed and crumpled the letter, throwing it to the ground in a rather dramatic fashion. She could not believe her parents were one hundred percent serious. They were not the kind that said things lightly. Forget a sprained wrist, this by far was the worst thing that has happened to her that week.

Evangeline felt her vision become blurry, and she honestly wasn't sure if she was crying out of anger or frustration. It didn't matter because tears were spilling out of her eyes.

"There you are," Marlene's voice came from her left, making Evangeline quickly wipe her eyes. She reluctantly glanced to her right and saw Marlene join her with a smile that was too bright for a morning.

"Here I am," she said dryly and bent down to pick up her letter and shoved it in her bag.

"You do know that mornings are for breakfasts, right?"

Evangeline shook her head, disagreeing. "Mhm, no... mornings are for sleeping... and not dealing with people like you."

"Right, I forgot who I was talking too," Marlene sighed. Looking over her shoulder, she pulled out a small lump and discreetly handed it to Evangeline who took it. "I saw you didn't eat anything," she explained when she caught the look of confusion on Evangeline's face. "You were in such a hurry to get here for some reason."

"I forgot that I had... you know, have things to do..." Evangeline mumbled and opened the napkin, and smiled when she saw it was toast with jam. "Ta."

Marlene nodded but didn't seem to be really paying attention. She was looking at her, scrutinizing her every move which unsettled Evangeline. If there was anybody that would most likely be able to deduce what was bothering Evangeline, it would be Marlene. According to Lily and Alice, those two had a creepy bond (which Evangeline found a little hypocritical from the other two girls).

It might make sense at how close the two Ravenclaw girls were. Evangeline and Marlene had been friends since first year. They shared the same bedroom, classes, friend group and similar aspirations in life. While the girls had different personalities and upbringings, they understood each other better than anybody else. Marlene has always been there for Evangeline when she got to overwhelmed with school work. Evangeline has always been there for Marlene when she got upset when someone would get hurt during Quidditch.

Although in that particular moment, Evangeline wished they weren't so close. She was going to say something, getting irritated by her friend's intense stare, when Marlene beat her to it.

"Don't tell me you're still angry about detention?"

Evangeline was not sure what she had expected for Marlene to say but that wasn't it. Although, she was going to use that to her advantage.

"Yes, I am angry," Evangeline agreed quickly when in reality she had forgotten about that. "I still can't believe I have detention for an entire week this week."

"You act as you've never had detention before," Marlene laughed. "Every year you land in detention. You got detention the last week of school last year, remember?"

"This isn't about the detention itself, Mar. I don't care about that."

"Then why...?"

"This is about how unfair it is that I only got detention, while that foul, disgusting, good for nothing, wanker of Rosier didn't get in trouble. He should have been the one serving the detention. Not me. I was only defending that poor girl."

"I get that, Evie," Marlene said gently, taking a seat next to her and touching her arm lightly. "Rosier is a wanker. He should be the one in trouble. He shouldn't have done those things to that third year. He deserved more than a punch in the face."

"Then how come he's not in trouble?" Evangeline said angrily, throwing her hands in the air. While her attention had been preoccupied with other problems, her anger towards Rosier had come back in full force at the reminder of him.

Evangeline didn't want to remember the terrified look on that third year who had done nothing to deserve to receive the cruelty of Rosier. Some might say that she had acted impulsively that day, but Evangeline knew she hadn't. Rosier had it coming long before he humiliated her back in the train.

She wouldn't have cared if both of them had gotten detention. It would have been worth it, but that didn't happen. Professor Humphrey had seen her and without letting her explain herself, she had been awarded a week of detention. Evangeline was immediately whisked away by Lily and Marlene before she had a chance to wipe the smirk off Rosier.

"I don't know," Marlene said regretfully. Evangeline scowled at her, unable to comprehend how unbothered she seemed of the situation at hand. Marlene glanced at her watch and sighed. "Come on, Evie. We have to go right now or else we're going to be really late to Transfiguration. You don't want to add another week of detention."

"Oh no, please add another week, that will just make this the best term of my life," Evangeline said sarcastically, making Marlene smile lightly. She roughly grabbed Evangeline's hand, which made her hiss in pain.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry," Marlene said, apologetic and immediately dropped her hand. "I am so sorry, Evie. Are you okay?"

"It's fine," Evangeline said, dismissing her friend's worry, but couldn't help and cradle her injured hand, feeling her hand throbbing in pain.

"Are you sure? That doesn't look fine," Marlene said doubtfully. Evangeline glanced at it and hated how red her knuckles were. She wished Madam Pomfrey would have done something to get it to heal quickly, but because she injured her hand for the wrong reasons, the nurse had refused to help Evangeline once she made sure it wasn't broken.

"I said I'm fine," Evangeline insisted and gave her a terse smile. She then extended her good hand towards Marlene, motioning her to take it. "Come on, you said it yourself, we need to go or else we're going to get in trouble."

Marlene looked at her doubtfully, but at her friend's insistence, she went to grab her forearm instead. It was then Evangeline who dragged them to their next class.

* * *

Once in Transfiguration, Evangeline didn't bother taking notes. She figured she could always get them from Marlene. She smiled to herself at the face Marlene would make when she would catch Evangeline coping her notes back in their dorm. So instead of paying attention in class, she chose to spend her time tapping her quill as she bit her lower lip, letting her eyes started wandered over the classroom, not really looking for something in particular.

Her eyes stopped where Pettigrew and Black were sitting near the left of the classroom. She felt her stomach churn uncomfortably at the sight of them, remembering the train incident. As if feeling her gaze, Black looked over his shoulder and caught her eyes. She felt herself become a little pink at being caught but didn't look away, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. His eyes went to Pettigrew and then looked at her expectantly, raising an eyebrow.

The smart thing would be for Evangeline just to stop procrastinating and actually do something useful, like apologize to Pettigrew which wasn't even that hard. But that, unfortunately, wasn't Evangeline style. She had to wait until the last moment before she applied herself and get things done.

Instead, Evangeline rolled her eyes at Black and looked down at her empty parchment, going back to her mindless daydreaming. But as she tried to let her mind go back to wandering, it kept going back to her parents and then to Pettigrew. Sighing in frustration, Evangeline caved in, deciding to at least do something productive in that class period. She picked up her quill once more and started making a checklist of things that she needs to accomplish that week.

One of them was meeting with Lily to study for potions, another was writing back to her parents and for a long time, she contemplated to crossing it off, but she shook her head. She couldn't avoid them forever. Her eyes fell to the last one.

 _Apologize to Pettigrew and Black. NOW! (or else Marlene is allowed to hex you)_

 _Maybe the next day,_ Evangeline reasoned with herself. It was too late for her to apologize to Pettigrew. He would probably consider her apology as a second thought than instead a priority of hers. She'd do it tomorrow in the morning, she decided. But something that wasn't too late was to respond to her parents, Evangeline contemplated, her eyes landing on her first checklist.

 _Write to Mum and Dad! (Don't be petty)_

So when all of her classes ended for the day, she told Marlene she would meet her for dinner and rushed to their dorm room, not wanting to get distracted by everyone. When Marlene came to fetch her for dinner, Evangeline had written on three parchments, expressing her feeling rather well. Her hand ached but she made no efforts to stop. She still had a lot to say. Marlene had to practically pry her hands from the quill and pull her from the desk.

"I'm not hungry," she grumbled and laid down in her bed. She sighed in contentment, wondering why hasn't it occurred to her to take a nap in between her breaks of writing.

"Oh, no, you're not. You're not skipping dinner. You skipped breakfast, and I saw that in lunch you literally only ate an orange and pumpkin juice. If you think you're going to stay here and be dramatic, you're wrong."

Marlena grabbed a pillow from one of the beds and threw it to Evangeline, who grunted but made no movement.

"Evangeline, come on, you need to eat."

"I prefer sleep."

"Well, if that's your argument for everything, you'd never get anything done," teased Marlene. When Evangeline still showed no signs of wanting to get up, Marlene's niceness took a dark turn. "Evangeline if you don't get up, I will throw water at you."

That made Evangeline shoot up from her bed and throw her friend a dirty look. "Please don't do that again."

"Great, then it's settled." Marlene clapped her hands and started walking out of the room. "I expect you to be downstairs in less than five minutes or I will hex you."

Groaning, Evangeline got off the bed and quickly finished her letter. Once everything was in order, she shoved it in her pocket and ran downstairs to catch up with Marlene, who was delighted that her threats had worked.

"So, I'm guessing you're barely writing back to your parents?" Marlene asked as they made their way down the stairs.

"Marlene," Evangeline grumbled.

"Come on, Evie, you have been avoiding talking about them since school started."

"Then why are we talking about them?"

"Because I had to see you argue with them before we left Hogwarts. Do you know how uncomfortable it was to be in the middle of that? You can at least give me an insight into what is going on with them. Is something happening?"

"Marlene," Evangeline said in her calmest voice, "as much as I love you if you don't stop talking about my parents I will hex you."

Marlene tilted her head, considered it. It seemed that Marlene had some self-preservation because she sighed in resignation. "Fine, I'll stop right now. Because we will talk about this," she warned.

"Of course we are," Evangeline said seriously, which earned her a smack on the shoulder. "Marlene, that's a week of detention. We do not hit students."

"Oh, shut it. Who did you just threaten to hex?" Marlene laughed, but then quickly grew serious. "But seriously, you need to stop being such an Evie and..."

"What the bloody hell is an Evie? I'm Evie, but I am not 'an Evie,'" Evangeline said defensively.

"You know what I mean," Marlene said, giving her friend a knowing look. "Constantly pushes things to the last minute, while you overthink everything until your seconds away from crying."

"Hm, I don't know what you're talking about. That does not sound anything like me."

"Oh, my mistake, I am thinking about another Evie that I know. A much more aggravating and exasperating Evie."

The two continued bickering until they reach the Great Hall. As they walk past the Gryffindor table, Evangeline teasingly pulls on Lily's hair. She turned around, ready to yell at whoever dared to touch her, but made a face at her when she saw it was just Evangeline.

"Where were you?" Alice asked, who was sitting next to Lily, and reached over to her and tugged on Evangeline's robes to get her attention.

"Got caught up writing a letter to my parents," Evangeline told her, swatting her hand playfully.

"What were you writing them? A novel?"

"Ooh." Lily perked up. "Tell them I say hello!"

"Already did," Evangeline said making Lily grin widely.

"You know me too well."

"Come on, we'll talk later. I'm starving," Marlene grumbled and pushed Evangeline to the Ravenclaw table. They took a seat and quickly started piling their plates with food. At least that was what Evangeline was doing. She smiled innocently at Marlene, who was making a face in disgust as her food was almost falling off the plate.

"What?" she said and took a large bite of the chicken. With a mouthful of food, she continued, "You wanted me to eat."

Marlene gave her a disapproving look but smiled and started eating herself. Evangeline sighed in content when she took her first bite of the fried potatoes. She hadn't realized that she was starving and was silently thankful to have Marlene to remind her to eat.

Marlene took that chance to tell Evangeline their plans to meet up with Lily and Alice in the weekend by the lake. Evangeline nodded along as she continued stuffing her mouth with food. Only a few times, she spoke up and added to the conversation. She didn't mind that Marlene wouldn't shut up, it helped her feel like things were not going crazy.

A loud noise coming from the Gryffindor table, made Evangeline look over and she felt her stomach sink when she that it was Potter and his friends. She could see Pettigrew sitting next to Remus Lupin. Why does he keep appearing everywhere?

Evangeline slouched down in her seat, making Marlene stop talking and frown at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm?" Evangeline said, looking at her and shook her head. "Nothing, I think I just ate too much."

Marlene laughed. "Yeah, you haven't stopped eating since we sat down. Come on, let's go before you throw up all over the table."

Even more grateful for her, both of them stood up and start making their way out of the dining hall. Evangeline glanced over her shoulder one more time and her gaze fell on Pettigrew again. Remembering the letter that she had inside her robes, she quickly made up her mind. She might not have the bravery of a Gryffindor but she did have the ready mind of a Ravenclaw.

Besides, she was going to prove to Marlene that she wasn't an 'Evie,' whatever that meant.

"Wait, hold on," Evangeline said, stopping Marlene.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just need to do something," she said with uncertainty and looked at her friend. "Stay here, alright? I'll be right back."

"No, wait..."

But Evangeline had already started walking towards the Gryffindor table, passing Lily and Alice. It took Pettigrew and his friends less of a second for them to notice her when she stopped in front of them and quickly looked over to her.

"Hi," she said, smiling pleasantly at all the four boys, who were looking at her curiously. "I hope I am not interrupting anything important."

"Pierce," Potter was the one that greeted her cheerfully. He glanced over her shoulder before looking back at her, that same stupid smile on his face. "You here alone?"

"Yes, I am," she said and wrung her hands, feeling her nerves getting to her. Why was she nervous? She was just going to give a really late apology to a boy she accidentally crashed into.

"What brings you here?" Potter asked.

"I'm here for Peter actually," she said, glancing at Pettigrew. The boys turned to look at the one in question with confusion. Pettigrew looked at Evangeline suspiciously.

"What do you want?" he asked, not rudely but definitely cautious.

"I know it's been days, and while I did apologize now that I think about it..." Evangeline frowned, distinctly giving him a hasty apology as she rushed off.

"What?" Pettigrew looked at her in bewilderment.

"Right, I believe you deserve a proper apology from me. I'm so sorry, Peter," she said sincerely. "I was rude to you that day back in the train."

Pettigrew appeared shocked. "Really?"

"Yes, I'm sorry for rushing off and being rude. I didn't even bother asking if you were alright. I was too embarrassed and angry and... well, that doesn't matter, what matters is that I am truly sorry for my behavior and I don't want you to think that I'm a mean witch."

Black let out a sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, which made her look at him over at him, reminding her of her other reason why she was there.

"And I also I wanted…" She trailed off when she saw Black's expression. He definitely didn't seem to want her to mention their interaction in the train. She glanced at the other boys and cleared her throat, "And well, I think that's it. So, um, what do you say, Peter? Mates?"

Pettigrew glanced at his friends and when he saw Lupin's encouraging nod and Potter's shrug, he turned to Evangeline and nodded. "I accept your apology."

"Great," she beamed at him, feeling significantly better. "I really am sorry, Peter. Well, then have a nice dinner. I'll see you in Transfiguration."

She turned, ready to leave them but Potter said, "Wait, wait, wait…"

"Yes?" she asked, turning back to face them.

"What happened to your hand?" Potter asked curiously, looking at her bloody knuckles, the same hand that Marlene had accidentally hurt earlier.

"Nothing," Evangeline said swiftly, putting it behind her back. Potter looked at her doubtfully. "Goodbye."

Once Evangeline turned her back at them, she could hear them whispering to each other, clearly talking about her. She ignored the looks that Alice and Lily were throwing Evangeline as she passed them. Unfortunately, she couldn't do that same with Marlene when she reached her.

"What was that about?" Marlene demanded.

Evangeline shrugged. "You don't really want to know."

"No, I really do want to know. You never talk to them," Marlene said, jerking her head towards the boys. "What did you know have to say to them?"

"Had to deal with some loose ends," she answered vaguely, not really want to go into detail of what loose ends.

"Oh, dammit. Black is looking over to us. Don't look," Marlene hissed, getting flustered. Evangeline rolled her eyes and turned over to Marlene's horror. Black indeed was looking over at them and when Evangeline raised her hand as if she was asking what he wanted.

"Rude," Evangeline muttered under her breath when Black turned back to his friends without bothering to say something.

"Why would you do that?" Marlene asked in mortification, glancing over her shoulder and relaxing when she saw that he wasn't looking over to them.

"Oh, come on," Evangeline said in annoyance, pushing her friend out of the dining hall. "This infatuation with him is ridiculous."

"I don't fancy him," Marlene said hotly, and Evangeline might have believed her if it wasn't for her cheeks turning red.

"Is there something that you know about him that I don't? Because frankly, I don't get it. I understand that you find him handsome because he is very handsome, too handsome for his own good if you ask me, but that doesn't make him special. Have you seen Adam McCall? He is also handsome. Why not fancy him?"

"You have zero romance in your bones. It's probably why you've never had a boyfriend."

"I've had boyfriends," Evangeline said defensively.

"One, and after that pratt broke your heart, you've been hopping from one boy to another."

Evangeline tsked. "Now you're the one being rude."

"I'm sorry, Evie, but it's the truth. You're so bitter."

"Do not tell me I need to get a boyfriend," Evangeline warned, giving her a dangerous look.

"Trust me, I wasn't going to say that." Marlene gave her friend a teasing smile. "But I was going to say that you should try to at least give boys some of your time and see that they are not all wankers."

"I have given them my time and I don't recommend it," Evangeline said but smiled good-naturedly at her.

"Now where are you going?" Marlene frowned when she saw that Evangeline started heading in the opposite direction of the Ravenclaw's dormitory.

"To the owlery," she sighed and pulled out her parent's letter from her robes. "If I don't send a letter back to my parents, they're most likely send a howler by the end of the week."

Marlene laughed. "Do they even know how to send one? Can they even send one?"

"Knowing them, they'll find a way."

"Alright, don't come back late. I know you like to be there with Orion for a while but I really need your help with Charms. Professor Flitwick truly wants me to throw myself off the Astronomy tower. I thought that as the head of our house, he would go easy on us this year, but of course, that clearly is not happening..."

"I'm sorry, Mar," Evangeline interrupted her friends rambling, "but I have detention today."

"Oh, shit, how could I forgot about that? We literally were just talking about it a while back?"

"Yeah, so how about you postpone jumping for another time, alright? I'll help you tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Evie," Marlene said gratefully. "I'll wait for you back in the common room tonight."

Evangeline gave her a smile. "You don't have to."

"No, I don't but I want to," she said making Evangeline smile more widely and when they reached the end of the staircase, they parted ways. Evangeline had no problem finding Orion. He flew down to her the moment she stepped into the owlery. She smiled softly as she petted him.

"Hello, did you miss me?"

Growing up, she always wanted a dog, but never got one because she was deathly allergic to them. Her skin would get covered in horrible rashes and her throat would get closed up. Despite that, she never stopped asking her parents for a dog. It wasn't until she got her Hogwarts letter and it said that she can bring a pet, she got her wish.

While it wasn't a dog, Evangeline wouldn't have changed Orion in the world. The moment she saw him at the pet shop when she was eleven, she knew he was the one. He had been the biggest owl from the rest which is probably why no one wanted to buy him. He was too burly, and his odd combination of colors could have been unappealing to others, but for Evangeline, it was what caught her attention. Black with white and grey streaks all over him, it reminded her of a cloudy night.

And ever since that first encountered, Orion had stood by her side. Honestly, he was more loyal than all the boys she had gone to dates with.

"I'm going to miss you," she told Orion as she tied her letter. She stroked his beak. "But that's alright. You can stay with my parents for a while if you want. They're probably going to feed you food which you will not accept. I mean it, Orion. Do not eat any bacon my dad offers you."

Despite her parent's reservations of the wizarding world, they were incredibly fond of Orion. She wasn't the only who had desperately wanted a companion pet. Her father had always feed Orion biscuits whenever Evangeline wasn't around much to her annoyance.

 _"He's fine, sweetie,"_ her father would dismiss her as he would feed Orion another biscuit. _"He loves them."_

 _"You're going to get him sick,"_ she would complain every time but would do nothing to stop him. Not once had Orion shown signs of getting ill, in fact, he seemed to love getting food. But that didn't stop her from sulking in her room until Orion would join her and peck at her hand for her attention.

After securing the letter, Evangeline let Orion spread his wings and flew off into the sky that was turning black. Sighing and leaning against the door frame, she watched as he glided effortlessly through the sky, on his way to deliver her lengthy letter to her parents. Out of nowhere, a wave of sadness washed over her. She rubbed her face, trying to stop the tears escape in vain.

"Ugh, no stop," she grumbled, having no idea where had all these tears had come from. She thought she had moved on from crying that morning but it seemed that she hadn't. Once, she realized there was nothing from stopping them, she let them fall down her cheeks and blur her vision.

Evangeline had faced many stressful situations the past few days, but none of them affected her badly as she read the letter of her parents expressing their desire for Evangeline not to return back to Hogwarts next year. Apparently, they were worried about her safety in the wizarding world due to being a muggle born.

She understands their reasoning, and now she needs to make them understand that she couldn't leave Hogwarts. That she belonged there, that in the muggle world she still wouldn't be safe. She desperately hoped they would be able to see that in their letter and change their minds.

Once the tears stopped coming down, taking a deep breath, Evangeline tried to compose herself as she wiped her tears. Once she deemed herself presentable, she walked out of the owlery and headed to where she was going to serve her detention.


End file.
